Alisiyad Chapter 24 ~ Love (Part 2)

The Adayzjian Valley was quiet.  Sun filtered over the mountaintops to land on the village lining the shores of the River.  Trees grew thickly in the Valley, towering over many of the buildings and climbing up the steep slopes.  Leeton, Russ, and the dogs rode along the edge of a clearing on the southern side of the Valley.  They passed acres of grapevines spreading up framework, and Russ was reminded of the Adayzjian Valley wine that Pillari had been so proud of.  That tense dinner seemed so long ago.

They’d arrived in Elharan Saturday night, to discover Eliasha dead and Liseli missing.  Leeton thought immediately of the Adayzjian Valley — long ago when Alisiya had used to try escaping on a regular basis, she always headed toward the Gate to Adayjzia, where Leeton and the Erykumyn had first entered this world.

Leeton commandeered two of Arlic’s horses, and he and Russ rode through the night.  It was not an easy trip for Russ, who had never even been on a horse before.

“Where are we headed?” he asked Leeton, feeling weary but trying to keep it from his voice.  “Where’s the Gate, I mean?”

“There is a waterfall up ahead, where all the little springs and creeks in the mountains come together and form the Chaiorra,” Leeton replied, with something that sounded like regret.  “Behind the waterfall, between two ledges, there is a cave; I almost fell over the ledge and down the waterfall when I first came here.  I would have bashed my head on the rocks and died right there, if I had . . . .”

“When will we see it?” Russ shifted in the saddle, thinking bleakly the he couldn’t really feel his legs.

“When we see it,” Leeton answered in a terse voice.  “I’m hoping that we’ll see my daughter first.”

“Liseli.”

“Her as well,” Leeton added absently, stretching in his saddle to see out ahead.  “If I remember correctly, it’s right through those trees.  You should be able to hear it already.”

Russ listened, and recognized the muted roar.  As they entered the woods, he had to duck and grip the horse to keep from being swatted off by thick branches.  The forest floor was padded down by leaves of many autumns, and the dogs seemed to glide over them, making it look as if the trees were reaching above dark waters.  It made Russ’s spine tingle and his insides clench.  Some of the dogs brushed against the horse’s legs as they wound through the threes, and the horse whinnied nervously.

“If you throw me . . . ” Russ muttered under his breath, gripping the reins.  The horse paused and stomped, like a cat dipping its paws into water, and the dogs around it shied away from the hooves but snarled low in their throats as a warning to the flighty creature.

Leeton glared; Russ couldn’t tell if it was meant for him, the horse, or the dogs, but he saw the King’s eyes stare out unnaturally bright and blue in the shady forest.  As soon as he looked their way, the dogs quieted obediently and gave Russ’s horse a wide berth.  Russ cautiously urged the horse on, and it went with a resigned flick of its tail, whapping Russ in the back.  Just so long as it didn’t throw him into the sea of dogs, he was happy.

As they neared the light on the other side, the dogs suddenly perked their heads up in unison and came to a stop.  Some of them whined distractedly and others began to wag their tails.  Russ watched the long, black, whip-like tails swishing back and forth, some thumping against tree trunks and making the forest creatures skitter in fear.  “What is it?” he asked Leeton in a hushed voice.

“She’s here,” Leeton said, darting a glance around the woods.  “They only act like this for her.  Go on,” he spoke to the dogs.  “Go to her.”

The dogs took off.  They leapt forward through the trees, emptying out of the woods and bursting into the clearing beyond.  Russ and Leeton followed more slowly, still having to dodge branches and leaves.  Russ wondered if it would be faster to just lead the horse through, and so since the dogs were out from underfoot he decided to dismount and find out.

He coerced the horse into stopping, then tried to dismount the way Leeton had showed him.  He felt large and ungainly as he ended up practically slithering down the side of his mount.  The minute his feet hit the ground, his legs buckled and he gripped the horse to keep himself upright.  The horse, however, had different plans, and shook free of him, bolting away.  “Shit!” Russ flailed out, wobbling to the side.  He slumped against a tree and muttered curses under his breath as both legs cramped, feeling strangely like Jell-O at the same time.

Leeton turned back to look at him.  “What are you doing?  You idiot!  We’ve almost found them!  Why did you—”

“I’ll be fine in a moment!” Russ snapped.  He pushed his back against the tree and added, “Just a little sore,” as he tried to stretch out his legs.  “Go on.  I’ll be there.”

“I’m not wasting any more time.”  Leeton turned back.  “I’ll come back for you when I’ve found Alisiya.”

Russ didn’t intend to wait for Leeton to come back.  As soon as he felt able he tried to walk, hobbling forward drunkenly until he hit another tree.  He thought dirty thoughts about the tree, the horse, Leeton, Alisiya, and every dog that had ever lived.  But the sun and the sound of the waterfall beckoned just a few yards away, and he pressed on.

He heard his name.  He stopped, wondering if he’d imagined it.  But then it came again, and it was Liseli’s voice.  He’d recognize it anywhere, saying anything, but especially when she said his name.  She called again; it was clearer, nearer, this time.  There was a desperate tone in her call; he’d never heard her yell just like that before, and he still couldn’t see her.  He stumbled through the trees, branches tearing at him and thorny undergrowth catching at his skin and clothes.

Finally he made it through, ripping away a tenacious vine that scraped across his neck.  The grass at the edge of the clearing was about knee high, and he felt like he was wading through it.  He saw the waterfall rising up ahead; by the edge of the cliff stood Leeton, the horses, the dogs, and Alisiya.  He faltered in his haphazard run, looking around for Liseli, then heard a shriek behind him. He turned around.  She’d been down by the treeline, about twenty yards south of where he’d come out.  Now she had to run back towards the River to get to him, and as he turned back he felt the soreness and exhaustion rush back to hit him.

Russ bent over and put his hands on his knees, gasping in air but keeping his eyes on Liseli.  He felt like he hadn’t seen her in years, but still a part of him couldn’t believe that she was running to him.  Her expression wasn’t . . . well it wasn’t happy, he thought with worry.  She ran all-out but her fists were clenched and her mouth was set in a hard line.  She’s angry at me for letting this happen, he thought wearily, wanting to rush to meet her but suddenly feeling deflated, wondering if he could even stand much longer.  He put his hand out and dropped to one knee, seeing the ground rush up dizzyingly for a moment.

In another moment she reached him.  “Russ!”  She put his hand on his shoulder.  “Are you alright?”

When he looked up into her eyes he saw them wide with fear, and quickly ruled out anger as her emotion.  “I’m fine,” he lied, but couldn’t get another word out, because she dropped to her knees and gripped him around the neck so suddenly that she knocked him off balance.  He half fell, half sat, on the ground, and Liseli clung to him.  He circled his arms around her waist, and felt her shaking.

She drew away just enough to look at him.  He smiled weakly, words draining from his mind.  Impulsively he moved a hand to brush hair from her face before kissing it, first her forehead, eyes and nose before finding her lips.  She didn’t relax, twisting his shirt in her hands but not kissing back.  He stopped after a moment, confused.

“Are you alright?  Did she hurt you?”

“I’m not hurt,” Liseli answered, lowering her eyes to fix her gaze on his chest.  “But your wounds,” she touched him, tentatively, where one of the dogs had sunk its teeth into his neck and shoulder.  “They’re gone.”

He nodded, unable to speak, and circled his arm around her again, letting them sink to the ground together till they lay on their sides.  All around them the grass rose like a protective wall, and he could almost forget about the others in the clearing.  “Liseli,” he finally managed, “you’re not alright.  What happened?”

She was silent.  He waited, feeling her heartbeat and wishing he could read her thoughts.  Then finally she drew back, strands of her hair still clinging to him as she looked down into his face.  “I . . . saw her kill Eliasha,” she said, mouth flattening in a grimace.  Her eyes were haunted by the memory, deep green and distant, before she blinked and saw him again.

She touched her fingers to his face, brushing hair from his eyes and trailing down to trace his jawline.  “And she told me you’d died.  And I believed her.  The last time I saw you, you were . . . almost.”

He caught her hand and pulled her back to him.  “What did she want from you?  What’s been happening?”

Silence.  He couldn’t see her face, her head resting on his shoulder.

“Liseli?”

“She’s just crazy,” Liseli answered.  “That’s all.”